A film that situates its first act at Oxford University, 2006, Barry Keoghan’s Oliver is a promising young scholar who struggles to fit into the University’s tribalist system of upper-class elitism until, by chance encounter, he lends his bike to the aristocratic Felix (Jacob Elordi), sparking a mutual friendship and one-sided infatuation. Claiming to have nowhere to stay due to a shaky family situation back home, Oliver is invited to stay at Felix’s family home ‘Saltburn’, a sprawling country mansion, for the summer. Over the summer of 2007, the initially reserved Oliver becomes a watchful observer of the house's dynamics, actively meddling in the affairs of the family to ascend Saltburn's hierarchy.
Saltburn is, by all intents and purposes, a funny film; hilarious, in fact, especially in its opening act as Oliver awkwardly navigates the intertwining social circles of uber-privileged academia as an outsider. Once 'Saltburn' house becomes the focus of Fennell’s picture, the dynamic amongst Felix’s family, his mother Elsbeth (Rosmaund Pike), father Sir. James (Richard E. Grant), sister Venetia (Alison Oliver) and transatlantic cousin Farleigh (Archie Madekewe) is perhaps the picture’s strongest aspect. Grant and Pike particularly shine and deliver every line with exemplary comedic timing, providing some of the film’s more memorable moments.
'There is a sense of tonal whiplash as scenes of complete sexual perversion are interspersed to provoke as opposed to fortifying Fennell's directorial intent'
Fennell’s fascination with genre and tone – as seen in Promising Young Woman (2019) - is once again the primary overarching force that permeates every crevice and corridor of Saltburn’s massive country house estate. A monument to class superiority, emotional restraint, and underlying secrecy, Saltburn opts to depict the grandiosity of its manor as relative to the comedic caricatures who inhabit it, making it a hive of excess and debauchery as Fennell attempts to merge the aspects of dark comedy with psychosexual gothic drama to a mixed result. Her inability to smoothly transition between the satire of the country house genre and the unearthing of its transgressive qualities concludes in what can only be described as tonal whiplash as scenes of complete sexual perversion are interspersed to provoke as opposed to fortifying Fennell’s directorial intent.
This aforementioned whiplash extends to that of Saltburn’s pacing and structure which seemingly wants to present itself as more complex than it really is. Fennell deliberately hides character actions and motivation before imposing a tell-all grandiose plot twist towards the end that ultimately falls short because of how predictable it truly is.
Telling rather than showing, restricting the audience’s access to information to then reveal the reality of the film’s characters at the conclusion, isn’t necessarily a flaw of narrative at all. But Fennell reveals an element of unreliable narration in the film's conclusion which is not properly alluded to nor is it consistent with the character's motivations, especially in the first act of the film. But despite the incoherence of its plot and tone, Saltburn’s flaw is rooted in its predictability. It doesn’t even need to be intentionally or unintentionally incoherent with character reliability or intent for one to grasp its feigned complexity, let alone Fennell’s attempt to pry the non-existent scales from the viewers’ eyes in the final rushed third act. One can predict the ending by the beginning of the second act no matter how disjointed the tone and subsequent narrative trajectory is. The psychosexual elements of Saltburn are when the film’s spontaneity is heightened but as mentioned prior, the disjointed incorporation of these scenes reduces what could be rich thematic exploration to gross-out shock value.
Saltburn, like Promising Young Woman, fails to stick its landing and ends ups meandering within its third act before wrapping everything up in a tired weathered bow in the final few minutes. Saltburn is certainly entertaining, excelling in its comedy but failing in its faux-complexity, tonal inconsistencies, and unnecessarily vapid transgressive overtures. What Fennell’s accomplishes well in terms of directing her ensemble is perhaps Saltburn’s most impressive facet. Her repertoire for genius casting, such as universally appreciated comedians and actors to play the absolutely despicable male characters in Promising Young Woman, is apparent within the casting of Keoghan. An actor with a penchant for slimy, pitiful roles, his chameleonic performance of Oliver is arguably his most impressive unstable, pathetic, and definitely his most outrageous.
Saltburn may be exhausting for some and especially grating for others but greatly inviting and entertaining if you are willing to look past its flaws and embrace its most ridiculous and comedic components.